Tech | Page 1190 | Science Codex

Scientists develop a 'nanosubmarine' that delivers complementary molecules inside cells

With the continuing need for very small devices in therapeutic applications, there is a growing demand for the development of nanoparticles that can transport and deliver drugs to target cells in the human body.

Recently, researchers created nanoparticles that under the right conditions, self-assemble – trapping complementary guest molecules within their structure. Like tiny submarines, these versatile nanocarriers can navigate in the watery environment surrounding cells and transport their guest molecules through the membrane of living cells to sequentially deliver their cargo.

Stanley Miller's forgotten experiments, analyzed

An electric discharge experiment simulates early Earth conditions using relatively simple starting materials. The reaction is ignited by a spark, simulating lightning, which was likely very common on the early Earth.

USC scientists create new battery that's cheap, clean, rechargeable and organic

Scientists at USC have developed a water-based organic battery that is long lasting, built from cheap, eco-friendly components.

The new battery – which uses no metals or toxic materials – is intended for use in power plants, where it can make the energy grid more resilient and efficient by creating a large-scale means to store energy for use as needed.

Fracking flowback could pollute groundwater with heavy metals

The chemical makeup of wastewater generated by "hydrofracking" could cause the release of tiny particles in soils that often strongly bind heavy metals and pollutants, exacerbating the environmental risks during accidental spills, Cornell University researchers have found.

Another concern arises over groundwater contamination from fracking accidents

The oil and gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, could potentially contribute more pollutants to groundwater than past research has suggested, according to a new study in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. Scientists are reporting that when spilled or deliberately applied to land, waste fluids from fracking are likely picking up tiny particles in the soil that attract heavy metals and other chemicals with possible health implications for people and animals.

Fast, portable device for 'on-the-go,' laboratory-quality cocaine testing

Testing for cocaine and other drugs usually involves two steps: a quick on-site prescreen, and then a more accurate confirmatory test at a distant laboratory. This process can take days or weeks — but that's too long in many cases where public safety is at risk. Now, researchers report development of a backpack-sized device that can perform highly accurate and sensitive tests anywhere within 15 minutes. The study appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry.

Hypervelocity launch performed on 3-stage light gas gun in CAEP

In the past 20 years, the Laboratory for Shock Wave and Detonation Physics Research in Institute of Fluid Physics (IFP), China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP) has conducted the research in hypervelocity launch technology. The State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing of Wuhan University of Technology participated in the research as a cooperator, and took charge of the flier processing. In this project, significant progresses have been made in optimization of the physical design, material processing and experimental measurement technology.

Smart gating nanochannels for confined water developed

Confined water exists widely and plays important roles in natural environments, particularly inside biological nanochannels. Professor Lei Jiang and his group from State Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, set out to study this unified bionic frontier.

Net energy analysis should become a standard policy tool, Stanford scientists say

Policymakers should conduct "net energy analyses" when evaluating the long-term sustainability of energy technologies, according to new Stanford University research.

Net energy analysis provides a quantitative way to compare the amount of energy a technology produces over its lifetime with the energy required to build and maintain it. The technique can complement conventional energy planning, which often focuses on minimizing the financial cost of energy production, say Stanford researchers.

Chronic migraine has a substantial impact on marriage and parenting

A web-based study of 994 men and women with chronic migraine found that the condition significantly impacts family relationships and activities, including cancelled vacation plans and reduced quality time with partners and children. Feelings of guilt, anger and annoyance toward family members due to headache, and avoidance of sexual intimacy due to headache also were reported. Chronic migraine is generally defined as migraine with headaches occurring 15 or more days per month.

Group recommends removing sexual orientation-related disorders from the ICD

A working group evaluating sexual orientation-related disorders listed in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), a publication of the World Health Organization (WHO), has recommended the disorders be deleted, a move that will make getting health care easier for gays and others who may have gender atypicality.

The WHO is the world body charged with deciding what is a disease and more than 170 countries, including the United States, follow their recommendations. The organization is currently revising the 10th edition of the ICD for release of the 11th edition in 2017.

Demonstrating a driverless future

In the coming decades, we will likely commute to work and explore the countryside in autonomous, or driverless, cars capable of communicating with the roads they are traveling on. A convergence of technological innovations in embedded sensors, computer vision, artificial intelligence, control and automation, and computer processing power is making this feat a reality.

Consumers looking for reduced sugar and salt in food products more than low- and no-fat

More than 50 percent of consumers are interested in products with reduced levels of salt and sugar, and yet new products in the United States are more likely to tout low- or no-fat attributes, according to a June 23 panel discussion at the 2014 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo® in New Orleans.

In recent research, just 25 percent of consumers claimed to be dieting, yet more than 70 percent said they want to lose weight.

UF part of research team that finds equine influenza virus in camels

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- University of Florida researchers have found evidence that an influenza A virus can jump from horses to camels – and humans could be next.

Metal particles in solids aren't as fixed as they seem, new memristor study shows

ANN ARBOR—In work that unmasks some of the magic behind memristors and "resistive random access memory," or RRAM—cutting-edge computer components that combine logic and memory functions—researchers have shown that the metal particles in memristors don't stay put as previously thought.

The findings have broad implications for the semiconductor industry and beyond. They show, for the first time, exactly how some memristors remember.